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SWAC
In the 2010-11 season, the Centenary Gents went 1-29. It was the school’s final season at the Division I level. In March 2011, when the HOOPSHD crew convened for its annual Mock Selection Committee meeting, we voted Centenary onto our at-large bid “Under Consideration” board and kept them there throughout the selection process (though they obviously were not selected into the final field). In honor of that final D1 Gents team, the following season we christened the “Centenary Award,” an award given each year to the team chosen by HOOPSHD as the worst team in Division I. This team is placed “Under Consideration” by our Mock Committee each season as the reward for winning the Award, even if they are otherwise ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. In 2012, the award went to Towson (though somewhat controversially). In 2013, it went to an 0-28 Grambling State team. In 2014, Southern Utah captured the honor.
Last season, Grambling became the first ever repeat winner, capturing the award following a 2-27 season that saw them fail to win a single game against Division I competition. The Tigers went 0-18 against SWAC competition, a feat made even the more (or should it be less) impressive by the fact that 6 of the SWAC’s 10 teams lost 20 or more games and only Texas Southern, which captured the automatic bid and a 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament, participated in the postseason (though Mike Davis’ team made headlines early in the season picking up wins at Kansas State and at Final Four-bound Michigan State).
This year, Grambling may again be in contention for the Centenary Award, though a deep recruiting class has them looking forward to better days. Texas Southern will be in the running for the conference title again, but the pick to win it this season is Alabama A&M, a team with six key seniors at the top of their rotation. Alabama State, Southern and Alcorn State could all be in contention for the regular season title as well, though Alcorn State is ineligible for the postseason due to their APR and Southern’s APR data is still being reviewed by the NCAA to determine their eligibility.
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Alabama A&M – The Bulldogs have a veteran team with six key seniors and all five starters back from last year. They are led by Ladarius Tabb outside and Nick West inside. All the pieces appear to be here to win the conference title.
2. Texas Southern – The Tigers only return two starters, but they are both double-digit scorers capable of pulling down 10 or more rebounds in Chris Thomas and Malcolm Riley.
3. Southern – The Jaguars are solid in the backcourt with Adrian Rodgers and Trelun Banks but need help down low. The NCAA has finally lifted the blanket ban on postseason play for the entire school due to defects in their APR data, but they are still awaiting final calculation of the most recent team data to confirm their eligibility.
4. Alabama State – Despite losing five seniors off of last season’s team, the Hornets have a solid point guard in Jamel Waters and return the SWAC Freshman of the Year, Steve Rogers.
5. Alcorn State – Three starters return led by Marquis Vance inside. The Braves have a chance to contend for the regular season title under new head coach Montez Robinson; however, they are banned from postseason play this year due to their APR.
6. Jackson State – Raeford Worsham and Kaven Bernard are both solid players, but a lack of outside scoring could be the team’s downfall.
7. Prairie View – Four starters are gone, but the Panthers had depth last season and if former role players can move into starting roles, they may remain competitive in league play.
8. Mississippi Valley State – Only one starter returns from a team that lost 25 games, but a large recruiting class could help as head coach Andre Payne enters his second year at the helm.
9. Arkansas-Pine Bluff – The Golden Lions have a huge lack of depth with only three key contributors returning.
10. Grambling State – Four starters are returning, but those four helped the Tigers claim the “Centenary Award” last season. A deep recruiting class will help in the future, but things appear fairly bleak again this year.